Horse Shells (Umagai), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"

Horse Shells, from the series A Selection of Horses, is a luxurious surimono Katsushika Hokusai designed in 1822 to mark the Year of the Horse. The series Uma-zukushi gathered horse-themed images for poetry clubs to celebrate the new year, and each sheet pairs verse with a meticulously printed image. In this design, Hokusai presents a cluster of so-called horse shells, sea shells whose curved profiles resembled horses to Edo connoisseurs, displayed against a quiet ground that emphasizes their sculptural forms. The composition reads as a still life arrangement and yet also as a witty visual pun, in which the natural world reveals an animal hidden inside another animal's name. As a surimono, the sheet was printed in small editions on heavyweight paper using metallic pigments, embossing, and the finest pigments available, far beyond the standard quality of commercial Edo ukiyo-e. Even at this restrained scale, Hokusai's draftsmanship is unmistakable: precise contours, controlled gradations, and a sense of weight that gives the shells genuine presence. The Art Institute of Chicago, where this ukiyo-e print resides, holds many of Hokusai's surimono in depth, providing context for collectors studying Katsushika Hokusai's role in shaping the privately printed, poetry-driven branch of Edo ukiyo-e during the late Bunsei period.